The new LEGO Traditional Chess Set is a clear, easy construct. Its squares are coloured darkish brown and beige, which creates the impression of polished wooden. Its items match and have a easy, easy end.
LEGO Traditional Chess Set
The size/width of the chess board is 12-by-12 inches—sufficient area that one can manipulate the items with out disturbing those surrounding it, and may visually distinguish the rows and information. It is, in different phrases, a chess set that is designed to play chess with, somewhat than merely take a look at. And for a LEGO set, that is fairly cool.
You construct the chess set as two symmetrical halves—first the “white” aspect of the board and all of the white items after which the “black” aspect of the board and all of the black items. The two halves fasten collectively by way of clasps on the center of the board.
The chess items are enticing—single parts bonded at single connection factors to create the fortress roofs of the rooks, or the crown aspect of the queens, or the eyes/ears of the knights. The king, somewhat than being topped with the standard cross, has a tiny LEGO Minifigure on its head. It provides a bit levity to what’s in any other case an easy construct.
LEGO might have gotten fancier with issues, and it has prior to now. It might have created “dwelling items” with faces and outfits. It might have jazzed the arrange with further, ornamental parts on the board itself.
But as anybody who’s ever owned a chess set can attest: Any additional thrives or gimmicky aesthetics lower the chance that an individual will really play with it. An ornate set turns into a dialog piece and an ornamental prop—a facsimile of a chess set somewhat than an precise chess set.
LEGO did not wish to make a set that sits on a shelf and collects mud. LEGO needs to be a life-style model, totally built-in into the lives of its grownup followers.
An grownup’s LEGO enjoyment should come from greater than the act of constructing itself, or from the preliminary satisfaction of getting accomplished a set. The frequent dilemma for any grownup who buys LEGO is, “Where am I going to place this after it is executed?” LEGO has partially answered this query by integrating units into house decor, like with the Starry Night set or this art deco skyline of Gotham City.
And that brings us again to the LEGO Traditional Chess set and its utility. When most individuals play chess—casually or competitively—they use a easy board, with strains which are straightforward to learn and items which are straightforward to determine at look. And in that approach, the construct may be part of a participant’s life, somewhat than other than it.
LEGO Traditional Chess Set, Set #40719, retails for $74.99 consists of 743 items. It is obtainable now on the LEGO Store.
